Ore-washer.



PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

F. H. FRANKENBERG.

ORE WASHER.

APPLiGATION rmm us. a. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

N VE N 70/? Tran Hizunkenfimy A TTOHNE VS PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

F. H. FRANKENBBRG.

ORE WASHER.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 9. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

A TTOHNE YS Patented Jul 5, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK H. FRANKENBERG, OF PUEBLO, COLORADO.

ORE-WASHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,448, dated July 5,1904.

Application filed January 9, 1904. Serial No. 188,277. (No model.)

2'0 on whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK H .FRANKENBERG, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State ofColorado, have invented a new and Improved Ore-Washer, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for washing ores andsimilar substances, an object being to provide a washer of very simpleconstruction so arranged. as to be operated with comparatively littlepower.

A further object is to so construct the de vicethat it may be placed andoperated at the bottom ofa dump, where there is no natural flow orpressure of water.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the general description.

I will describe an ore-washer embodying my invention and then point outthe novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an orewasher embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating pairs of buckets employed.Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the washer. Fig. 1 is an endelevation, partly in section. Fig. 5shows a shaking-cam employed. Fig. 6is a detail showing the positionof a pair of buckets when dumpingmaterial from one bucket to the other. Fig. 7 is a cross-section throughone of the waterdistributing pipes, and Fig. 8 is an elevation showingsupplemental tanks that may be em ployed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a tank in which is an endlesscarrier belt or apron 2. This belt is inclined upward toward its outletend, so as to retain as far as possible fine particles of ore, so thatthe same may be washed off by the water in the tank as the carriermoves. The carrier-apron extends around a roller 3 at the forward end ofthe tank and around a roller 4 at the rear end of the tank. Attached tothe inner side of the carrier at about the center is a sprocket-chain 5,which engages with sprocket-wheels 6 7,

respectively, arranged on the rollers 3 4. Motion is imparted to theroller 3, and consequently to the carrier, through the medium of adriving-shaft 8. Extended from opposite sides of the tank near thereceiving end of the carrier are standards 9, connected at the top by across-bar 10, and supported on this cross-bar is a water-tank 11.Communicating with the tank and extending clownward at the front andrear sides of the standards are water-distributing pipes 12 13. The pipe12 has a horiZontally-disposed section 14, while the pipe 13 has ahorizontally-disposed section 15. These horizontal sections areperforated to discharge water onto the ore, as will be hereinafterdescribed. The lower ends of the pipes 12 13 are indicated as closed.

It may be here stated that in practice the tank 1 communicates throughpipes 16 17 with a series of supplemental tanks 1* 1", arranged on lowerplanes, so that the muddy water will pass from one tank to the other,giving the same a chance to settle the mud on the bottom, so that clearwater may be pumped from the lowermost tank through a pipe 18 into thepressure-tank 11. By this means it will be seen that the water may beused over and over again, thus particularly adapting the machine toplaces where water is scarce.

Mounted in bearings secured to the rear sides of the standards 9 nearthe upper end is a shaft 19, on which are sprocket-wheels 20, andmounted in hearings on the front side of the standards near the lowerend is a shaft 21, secured to which are sprocket-wheels 22, and engagingwith these sprocket wheels are sprocket-chains 23, to which oppositeends of the carrying-buckets are secured. The buckets are of perforatedor open-mesh material, so that water may readily pass through the same,and the buckets are arranged in pairs, whereby at a certain time ore orother material may be dumped from one bucket into the other of the pair.While I have illustrated but three pairs of buckets, it is to beunderstood that several pairs will be arranged at suitable intervals.Each pair consists of a bucket 24 and a bucket 25, which are reverselyarranged-that is, with the opening or outlet of one bucket adjacent tothe opening of the other bucket. The buckets of a pair, it will benoted, are made of different shapes. The bucket 24:, which may be termedthe upper bucket, because it carries the ore upward and dumps uponturning into the other bucket, is substantially V-shaped incross-sectionthat is, its front and rear walls are of equal size and arearranged at an angle to each other of approximately forty-five degrees.The other bucket 25, however, has its inner wall somewhat shorter thanthe outer wall, so that the outer wall has a somewhat greater extensionoutward or approximately a sixty-degree angle, the object being toprovide some extended space to catch the ore from the upper bucket asthe two buckets pass over the upper sprocket-wheels, and thus preventspilling. The buckets are driven through the medium of a band 26,passing around a pulley 27 on the shaft 8 and around a pulley 28 on anoutward extension of the shaft 19.

Arranged at the front of the tank 1 is a feeding-chute 29, which isinclined downward and has at its upper portion at the bottom a screen30, through which fine ore which requires no washing may pass and besifted. This chute has a vertical shaking motion, and therefore it hasswinging connection with a rod 31, secured to the upper ends of arms 32,attached to the front end of the tank 1. A crank-lever 83 is mounted torock on an extension of the shaft 21, and its upper or horizontally-disposed member has pivotal connection 34 with the chute. Itsdownwardlydisposed member is provided with a wristpin 35 for engaging ina cam-slot 36, formed in a cam wheel 37, attached to the shaft 8. It maybe here stated that the feed-chute may be omitted and the ore shoveleddirectly into the receiving-bucket 24 without departing from the spiritof my invention. In the operation of the machine, however, as disclosedthe ore is shoveled into the shakingchute and falls into the bucket 24,the said bucket of course carrying the ore upward at the forward side ofthe sprocket-chains, and upon reaching the dump the bucket is reversed,as indicated in Fig. 6, so that the ore passes from the bucket 24 intothe bucket 25. During the movements of the buckets jets of water aredischarged from the pipe-sections 1 15 onto the buckets, so that thewater passes readily through the ore to clean the same, and this isaided by the dumping of the ore from one bucket into another, as by suchdumping the ore is somewhat shaken up or turned over in its particles.Water will also discharge from the lowermost pipe-section 14 onto theore on the chute. The ore carried by the bu ckets will be dischargedonto the carrier 2 and disposed over the end thereof. The ore need notbe continuously shoveled into the chute;

' but a certain amount may be placed therein veaaes ing-water,obviously, will pass into thetank 1 and from this tank to the lowertanks and back to the tank 11, as before described. Gomparatively littlepower will be required to operate this machine, as the ore carried downat one side will practically counterbalance the weight of ore at theupcoming side.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. An ore-washing machine comprising a tank, standardsextended upward therefrom, a water-tank supported at the upper ends ofsaid standards, water-distributing pipes ex.

tended from the tank downward at the front and rear sides of thestandards, the said pipes having horizontally disposed sections pro.-vided with perforations, carrier-chains sup ported by the standards, andbuckets mounted on said chains, the said buckets being arranged in pairsof reverse order. I

2. An ore-washer comprising a tank, standards extended upward from saidtank, an endless carrier operating in the tank, a water-tank supportedat the upper ends of said standards, pipes extended downward from saidwatertank at the front and rear sides of the standards and havingcross-pipes provided with per+ forations, sprocket-wheels havingshaft-bearings at the upper portions of the standards,

sprocket-wheels having shaft-bearings at the lower portions of thestandards, chains engaging with the sprocket-wheels, and perforatedbuckets attached to the chains, the said buckets being arranged in pairsand in reverse order whereby one bucket of a pair may dump material intoits companion bucket,

3. An ore-washer comprising an endless series of buckets, carrier-chainsfor said buckets, the said buckets being arranged in pairs, the bucketsof a pair being of different shapes, whereby the outer wall of onebucket has a greater degree of angle than the outer wall of itscompanion bucket, and means for discharging water onto the bucketsduring their movements.

4:. An ore-washer comprising a tank,standards extended from the tank, awater-distributing tank supported by said standards, water-distributingpipes extended downward from said distributing-tank at the front andrear sides of the standards, sprocket-wheels having their shaft-bearingsat the upper portions of the standards, sprocket-wheels having theirshaft-bearings at the lower portions of the standards, chains engagingaround said upper and lower sprocket-wheels, buckets arranged in pairsand attached to said chains, and a shaking-chute for dischargingmaterial into the buckets.

5. An ore-washer comprisingatank, aroller arranged in the tank near theforward end, a roller at the rear end of the tank and at a higher levelthan the first-named roller, an endless carrier engaging around saidrollers, a sprocket-chain attached to the inner side of said carrier,sprocket-wheels on the rollers for engaging with said chain, a series ofcarrying-buckets arranged vertically over said carrier, the said bucketsbeing'perforated, and means for discharging water onto said buckets.

6. An ore-washer comprising a tank, standards on said tank, a water-tanksupported by the said standards, water-distributing pipes extendingdownward from said last-named tank and having perforated transversesections, perforated carrying-buckets arranged in pairs between thefront and rear distributing-pipes, a vertically-swinging feed -chutehaving a screen upper end, and a cam mechanism for causing the verticalswinging movements of said chute.

7 An ore-washer comprising a tank, standards on said tank, a water-tanksupported by said standards, distributing-pipes extended downward fromthe water-tank at the front and rear sides of the standards, a series oforecarrying buckets operating vertically between

